Q. I will be retiring this year (2012), with 30.3 years as a Civil Service Retirement System employee. The leave year ends on Jan. 12, 2013. If I waited until then to retire to maximize my leave cash-in value, my annuity wouldn’t start until February 2013, but if I retired on Dec. 31, 2012, my annuity would start in January 2013. However, I would not maximize my leave cash-in value. Is this correct? A. If you retired on Dec. 31, you would receive a lump-sum leave payment for all the annual leave you had accumulated up to that point. If…
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Q. I am in the Senior Executive Service and am eligible to retire in March. I will have over 700 hours of accumulated annual leave at that time. Is there a straightforward way of calculating whether it makes more sense to take a lump-sum payment in March or remain in the government and take several months of annual leave before resigning. In addition to extending my time in service by a few months, are there other factors I should consider when deciding which course to take? A. You start with the assumption that you have a choice about whether to…
Q. After working 26 years for the Postal Service, I transferred to the Defense Department. Postal Service employees have a higher annual leave carryover limit than other federal sectors. I currently have 466 hours of annual leave and the max carryover for DoD is 240. Will I lose all annual leave hours in excess of 240 if not used by Dec. 31? A: According to OPM, “The Postal Service Reorganization Act provides that an employee transferring between the USPS and other agencies may not lose benefits if the employee transfers without a break in service. The employee is entitled to carry over the…
Q: I will be 59 years and 8 months old with 37 years, 7 months of federal service on my target retirement date of Dec. 31. I only earned 33 quarters of Social Security; to earn more credit on Social Security, can paid annual leave be considered as Social Security income for the year 2012, because the paid annual leave is not included as Civil Service Retirement System income for the year 2011? If so, what is the procedure to report it as Social Security income? And will this only be applied at the end of the year of retirement,…
Q: I will have approximately 372 hours of annual leave on the books prior to my Oct. 31 retirement date. Can I take all of my leave at once prior to my retirement date, or do I have to accept a lump-sum payment? A: The civilian federal government doesn’t provide for terminal leave. You can only use your annual leave in that manner if it is appoved by your supervisor.
Q: I am a 48-year-old employee with 18 years of government service in the U.S. Postal Service and the Veterans Affairs Department. I am on a two-week leave of absence due to stress from my supervisor and would like to resign without filing action so that I may find other government employment. What is the longest unpaid absence I can take so that I may try another type of employment while on unpaid leave status? A: If you didn’t report to work, you’d be considered to be absent without leave and your agency could begin the process of separating you…
Q: I will be 60 in December 2013 but will not have 20 years of service until April 2014. I have 1,000 hours of sick leave. Can I use that leave beginning Jan. 1, 2014, to reach the April milestone? A: No. You must meet the actual age and earned service requirements to be eligible to retire. Unused sick leave can only be added after you meet those requirements.
Q: My retirement date was July 1. I have negative-170 hours of sick leave and negative-32 hours of annual leave. I will receive an annuity, but I will get an interim amount first: How much will I have to pay back? A: Unless your agency waives payment, you will owe a debt that must be repaid. Whether they will require you to pay it before you separate or ask the Office of Personnel Management to withhold the required amount from your annuity is a decision they will have to make. You need to talk to someone in your personnel office…
Q: What are the rules concerning getting paid a lump sum for unused comp time (overtime credit) after retirement? Is there a limit on how many hours you can get paid for? Does the balance of annual leave have any effect on comp time balance? A: Compensatory time must be used within 26 pay periods. If you retire and have any compensatory time remaining, it will be paid at the hourly overtime rate in effect when you earned it. Such a payment is not affected by any lump sum payment for unused annual leave to which you may be entitled.
Q: I am a 20-year retired Army veteran. I receive a CRDP disability of 60 percent in addition to my retired pay. I work for Veterans Affairs and I have worked there since Dec. 26, 2007. I received creditable service for some of my assignments which took me to six hours per pay period accrual. I think I read somewhere that if you have a disability rating of a certain type you can receive creditable service toward leave accrual. Can I? A: No leave accrual credit is given for a disability rating of any kind.